Duvel Belgian Golden Ale | Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV

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Notes / Commercial Description:
A Duvel is still seen as the reference among strong golden ales. Its bouquet is lively and tickles the nose with an element of citrus which even tends towards grapefruit thanks to the use of only the highest-quality hop varieties. This is also reflected in the flavour, which is beautifully balanced with a hint of spiciness. Thanks to its high CO2 content, this beer has a wonderful roundness in the mouth. A Duvel is both the perfect thirst quencher and the ideal aperitif.

Appearance - A vibrant straw-colored hue with plenty of transparency to allow the light to pass through, creating shadows and bringing the yellow to life. Signature carbonation bubbles drift to the top from the etching on the bottom of the glass. Head is frothy and rich and clings to the side of the glass as it slowly dissipates and is the first clue that, while this beer may have a similar color to your classic American pilsner, that is where the similarity ends.

Smell - Hints of freshly cut hay and an almost imperceptible hint of barnyard funk, like you'd expect from a Saison. The barnyard aromas give way to fruity esters and hints of flower petals. Promise of freshly-baked bread.

Taste - Here is where this beer shines. The nose is crisp and has a pleasant bite of alcohol, but rounds out into a bready, yeasty finish, again hinting at barnyard funk. Again, notes of light fruits with subtle tartness, but not full-on citrus.

Mouthfeel - The floral and bready undertones linger well after the beer has been swallow. Just enough of a lining on the mouth to entice that next sip or full-on swig.

Overall one of my favorite beers; I've been known to down entire 750 mL bottles of the stuff before I even realize it's gone. Clean enough to be accessible to even those who don't necessarily prefer the Belgian style of brewing, but also so quintessentially "Belgian". You can taste the flavors from the unique yeast strain that make Duvel it's own beer.

More User Reviews:

Appearance: Cloudy (from escaped yeast) and pale. A grande creamy, chunk head adorns the top and sticks with great stay. The colour and head are perfection incarnate.

Smell: Delicate spice, pepper and clean malt sweetness.

Taste: Smooth and extremely creamy on the palate. A lively carbonation creates a light mouthfeel and crispness. Upfront flavours are bitter and sweet, with a lean on the sweet; distinct fruity malt esters, bold spiciness and rind-like twang that mellows and balances. Finishes slightly grain/dry with some residual spice and dextrin notes.

Notes: Deceivingly seductive and powerful. It lurs you with mesmerizing eye candy, then as the absolute refresher, then whacks the shite out of you with an 8.5% abv club. It's not called the "Devil" for nothing.

One of the best beers on the face of the Earth. Bow down to this god of beers.

A- This one looks exceptional overall! This has a 3 to 4 finger thick head that is super puffy and cloud like, before eventually settling into a thick, very dense film over the beer! Lacing is simply perfect to be honest, with clumps of thick bubbles clinging to the side of my tulip glass. Carbonation looks to be fine and very lethargic in this relatively clear, super golden colored Belgian Ale!

S- There is a fruity nature about this in the aroma profile that lingers into the apple, pear and banana smells....on top of this, there is a very genuine yeasty biscuit smell that reminds me of fresh bread dough that hasn't been baked yet. Mild peppery spice notes round out the finish....a very well rounded aroma profile that goes between sweet and savory....quite nice and pleasantly unique for a golden Ale in my tastings to date!

T- The flavors are simply superb, following the aromas closely. The fruitiness of the brew really shines, and in particular the pear/apple flavors become much more prominent. The yeasty bread notes also shine through and follows through straight to the finish, which becomes just slightly dry and spiced.....clean on the palate.

M/O- Well I'd never know that this was 8.5% beer...simply delicious! The creamy nature of the carbonation and medium body make this almost dessert like and this needs nothing to accompany it. This sets the bar for golden ales in my opinion and is so highly drinkable....I'm afraid of how quickly this would catch up to one during a session. Highest regards and a full recommendation!

This is one fine beer!! Poured from 12oz. bottle into a tulip glass.
Color of gold and clear with very slight haze.
Smells of grain and yeast. Reminds me of feed barrels in my grandfathers barn and bread.
Taste is awesome! Can taste apples, grain, yeast and hay. Sorta funky in a very good way.
As for feel++very carbonated/fizzy, but good.
This is a great beer! I will buy again as a treat to my self.
Wish it were less expensive at $15 for 4 pack.
Great, great beer!!!

Poured beautiful slightly hazy straw color with a billowy, long lasting white head. Excellent lacing.
Clove like aroma, with peppery notes, taste is unique to this brand, almost pepper like with a good spice mix, some yeast in background. Mouthfeel is more dry than full, with a light warmth at the finish

Overall, this is worth the price and hype. Truly outstanding in all aspects

A - Pours a clear pale gold color with a HUGE 1.5 to 2 inch head that fades to about 1 inch. Super perfect pillowy head and nice ring lacing. Probably the best head I have seen on a beer thus far in my beer drinking adventure.

T - Citrus and stone fruit character is a bit more pronounced, but otherwise the flavor is a bit more smoothed out. Grain, spicy Belgian yeast, pilsner malt. Not as sweet as the aroma. No alcohol in the flavor whatsoever.

M - The carbonation is harsh and mildly unpleasant, even when you take the style into account. Grainy, dry texture, minimal alcohol warmth, medium body, with only minimal stickiness in the finish.

D - A very good Belgian beer made on an impressively large scale. While there are other takes on the style that I prefer I would happily have this without complaint. Very easy to drink considering the higher ABV - guess the name is appropriate.

Appearance  Very light colored (yellow) for a BSPA. The head is monstrous even with a conservative pour. I emptied the bottle in my glass, went upstairs to watch the top half of a Mariners inning, came back downstairs, and it was still there.

Smell  A complex aroma. I can pick up some fruit, malt, and yeast. Pleasant.

Taste  The light appearance is deceptive. This is a heavy hitter, and its not just malt, yeast, and light fruit. You have to wait for it, but theres nice spicy bitterness and even some evident hops past the crest of the standard BSPA flavors.

Not to go overboard, but this is a good brew. It is fun and complex. I know that it is sold at thousands of grocery stores around the country and I may sound like a bumpkin for belaboring the point, but The Devil is very interesting indeed. I have often dismissed it myself in the past (thinking of it in the 3.0 or 3.5 area), until I actually sat down and took some time with it for the review.

Mouthfeel  Again, this is right on. Well carbonated and smooth.

Drinkability  The bottle didnt even make it to the end of the review. So what if half the Bud-drinking losers you know have it in their fridge's  its great!

Comments  I really developed an appreciation and respect for this beer after taking my time with it. This is well done.

PS: Large amounts of sediment that I'm not supposed to drink - but I do.

Update: A sampling of this in 2004 shows amazing consistancy. After sporting a gorgeous appearance from several different bottles Im upping this rating by 0.5.

Pours a pale, golden-straw color with a humongous, pillowy white head that lasts for an incredible amount of time and leaves decent lacing. This is truly a great looking beer, and you'll be getting a foam-mustache when you take a sip for almost the entirety of the brew.

The aroma is strong fruity esters, banana, pears, apple skins - crisp and refreshing tone. Light clove spice and bubblegum is present, thanks to the Belgian yeast strain, although it isn't overdone or overpowering. Some light hops on the nose, grassy, dry, musky. I love the clashing between mildly tart and a bit spicy; it works well together and is executed nicely here.

The taste is certainly no slouch - Duvel often gets pegged as one of the quintessential BSPAs, and it's hard to disagree with that upon tasting it. A combination of pears, apple skins, bananas, cloves, gum, yeast, breadiness, and light hops all hit your taste buds at once, in seemingly perfect harmony. The initial sweetness from the malts is never too high, but always inviting as it slowly turns into a light hop bitterness by the end of the sip.

Crisp and light on the mouth feel, high carbonation almost causes the beer to evaporate in your mouth while just the flavors remain intact. Alcohol does nothing more than provide a slight warming background, and even then, it's only really noticeable as the beer warms up - very impressive despite being 8.5% ABV.

Duvel is a great example of the style, and it's certainly the beer you want to start off with when introducing someone new to BSPAs. All around, it contains the flavors you expect from a Belgian ale, but handles them in a nearly perfect way. Don't pass this one up, you'll be sorry you did.

330 ml stubby brown bottle with a best before date of 09 2006. Quick tips on how to pour the beer as well as Bottle Conditioned on the label.

Appearance: A perfect amount of foamy head from a trained pour into the appropriate Duvel glass, the lace clings to the glass in patchy clumps. The clarity is great as the pouring went well and the yeast stayed in the glass. Very pale in colour, some would confuse this with a lager as far as the light golden hue.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Clean pale malt flavour throughout. Three big flashes of yeast, hop bitterness and alcohol hit the palate. Big cleansing crispness makes you want an other sip. A tad juicy in the middle, with a big warming alcohol landing middle to end. Mild medicinal phenols peak in the middle and nearly vanish as the alcohol takes over.

Notes: A top shelf brew, this one does it for me and then some. Pretty much sex in a bottle and the devil told me to drink it. Duvel is close to dry champagne but so much more. Between the bitterness and the sheer crispness, this beer is what I expect from the Belgian strong pale ale style.

Pours a brilliant clear golden color with a big two finger fluffy white head that lasts. Aroma is very citric and yeasty. Taste is boozy(not a bad thing in this beer), hay like and yeasty, with a small amount of hops. Mouthfeel feel light-medium and very carbonated. Overall a very interesting beer that drinks easy but is easy to savour. I can see why it is held in such high esteem.

So here, we have this wonderful brew. No believe it or not, with over 800 reviews I had never done one for this. I was shocked when I noticed this, but to be honest it had been a long time since I had last had a bottle, so I knew I was going to have to pick up another one to be able to review it properly, which is just what I did on the way home last night. Got this 750 ml bottle and took it right out of the cooler section, put it on ice and brought t it home. Served it at around 50 degrees and poured it into a Rodenbach chalice all night to finish this one off.

Appearance - Poured an extremely vibrant and bright straw colored yellow. Very clear, I mean very clear, one of the clearest beers I have seen. An absolutely enormous amount of carbonation on this one. In fact, when I popped the cork it damn near woke up my son. This was a seriously well-carbonated beverage if I have ever seen one. A huge white head, pretty much immeasurable formed across the top and spilled over the sides of the glass coating everything in huge frothy bubbles. This would not fade at all, and I mean at all. There was just a huge pillow like layer of foam across the top of this throughout the session, and it must have literally took close to seven pours before I could fit the whole bottle into glasses. It just would not give up. Huge side glass presentation, leaving sticky blobs of foam pretty much everywhere throughout the glass. The carbonation bubbles were streaming up from the bottom of the glass so quickly and in such abundance, if I did not know better I would have thought it was champagne. Overall, I was very impressed with the look of this one, I could see why people rave about it!

Smell - The aroma was very light and airy, and to be honest much fruitier then I thought it would be, which came as a bit of a shock at first. I had expected a strong grainy Belgian pale, but this was quite nice and light. Waves of light fruit and light grain came over me all at once. Hints of light pear aromas, mixed in with apples were now commonplace. A nice light alcohol smell mixing in and giving it a little bit of depth and letting you know this was quite a bit bigger then you thought it was. Very light cereal and earthy grains coming on now, and just a touch of something sour sitting off in the background, not too strong, just maybe a hint of grapes. Not bad overall, and much lighter then I would have thought.

Taste - The flavored followed along the taste perfectly. A wonderfully light mixture of soft bright fruit flavors that was layered on top of a light alcohol warming with ample amounts of fresh light grains thrown in. Hints of pears and apples were more then abundant here and were really showing off how well this was put together. A nice light cereal grain was the backbone, blended seamlessly with the yeast and a nice light grassy flavor. Some hints at a light sour grape were near the end of it. The finish was very quick and clean, but very dry. It was a weird champagne like dry if you know what I mean, just kinda leaving it all out there.

Mouthfeel - The feel on this was superb as well. Really one of the lightest, and definitely one of the most highly carbonated beverages I have ever had. A very nice blend of flavors really hid the alcohol well and I could have just kept on going with this one as it was just effortless.

Drinkability - As for a nice strong Belgian, this was about as sessionable as you can get. Light flavors were abundant here, really being very bright and expressive and allowing it to be refreshing at the same time that you could be exploratory with the flavors. Really quite well put together and I would have definitely had another when I was done.

Overall, I thought this was outstanding. Now is it worth the hype and the high rating, hard to say. Something does not get such a high ranking after almost 1200 reviews without having something going for it. Are there better ales out there, sure there are, but this is a classic, and will always be. If you are looking to introduce someone to the style this would work perfectly.

A: The beer is clear yellow in color and poured into a tulip glass with a three finger high bright white head that has excellent retention properties. A moderate amount of carbonation is visible.
S: The smell isn't that strong, but there are notes of citrusy and floral hops in the nose along with some hints of fruit, spices and yeast.
T: The taste is similar to the aroma but is much stronger and has flavors of apples, bananas, pears, spices and yeast. There's a sight amount of bitterness in the finish. Some alcohol is noticeable, but it doesn't detract from the taste.
M: It feels light-bodied, crisp and very highly carbonated on the palate. There's also a significant amount of dryness.
D: The beer is very easy to drink because the alcohol is well hidden.

Beautiful golden color. Huge white head that seems to last an impossibly long time -- the first and last sips are both foam. Clean and crisp with a subtle fruit, grapefruit and maybe pear, flavor. Very well-carbonated. Dry finish. Beer just doesn't get better than this.

Everytime I open a bottle I am always asking, "Now why is this not the best beer in the world?" There are few beers that single-handedly define the style ideally. Duvel does it as well as any other beer.

A careful pour is needed as the beer's head fills the chalice at about twice the pace of the liquid itself. Medium straw and with brilliant clarity. The carbonation contiunes to build a head that is shows great stability, longevity and airiness. The beer leaves impressive lacing thoughout the session.

Moderate, yet complex aromas of fruity pears along with sharp acrid scents of under-rippened berries and apples. Softer pilsner malts soon find the olfactories, giving a firm malty base for the esters, acidity, and spices. Noble hops give a perfume and lemongrass note that again gives complexity while balancing the malts. Spiced with subtle white pepper and zesty alcohols, this beer takes on a ligtly vineous, berry-like, citrusy, lightly tart taste. Again the hop flavor perplexes the taste with a light earthiness that complements the fruits with vibrant lemmon counterparts.

The beer is as dry in the body as a beer can be without getting chalky or powdery. Acidity cleanses the palate very well. The beer expands wonderfully in the mouth with its abundance of controlled carbonation, yet evaporates with a cotton-candy like whimsy. Alcohols accentuate the carbonation and accompany the spiciness into the finish. Effortless to drink and dangerously smooth.

Look--Classic unfiltered cloudy (just beyond hazy) and pale-gold. Big rocky head, more like a wit than a Belgian strong. The head has some serious staying power, and the lacing is creamy and fabulous throughout. This is just a stupdenous-looking beer.

Aroma--Perhaps a bit subdued in the aroma department compared to some of its fellows, but still very complex. Fruity aromas mixed with spice and just-there maltiness.

Taste--The first word that comes to mind, sip after sip, is balance. In every possible way. Malty sweet. And fruity sweet. Yet just-so on the bitterness. There is also an herbal or spice note that combines with a distinctively strong carbonation to provide a dry kick to finish. The alcohol is definitely there, but strictly as a pleasing and additional drying element--no bite or burn.

Feel--Difficult to separately quantify or qualify from the taste, because it is such a strong component of that aspect. Wonderful carbonation and warming booziness provides a fine drying finish to a complex flavor. "Crisp" doesn't do this justice.

Overall--Everything that makes me favor the Belgian/Flemish approach to brewing is here and then some. If you haven't--you must and soon.

Poured into a pilsner glass at a wine bar (I know). Poured a hazy yellow (actually pretty clear). Nice 2 finger head. Nice malt upfront light peppery lemon finish. The thing that is amazing is this beer retained a 2 finger head for a solid 30 minutes. Will definitely have this beer in the future. One of the better looking beers that taste damned good

Overall - Very clean tasting, and made with love. This is the best Belgian style beer I have ever had. Maybe it is the pale ale part of the beer that I love. A masterpiece. This is impressive, and something I will seek out in the future.

beer pours a beautiful light brown with what looks like three inches of head that lasts and lasts and lasts. The taste is smooth and clean with little to no hop bitterness and a somewhat sweet taste. Overall and outstanding readily available beer that is now on my highly recommended list.